The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
